Concepts and basics

This part of the 4.x documentation is for Exponential 4.0, only reference section is common for all Exponential 4.x versions as well as Exponential 5.x "LegacyStack", please select the version you are using for the most up to date documentation!

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce and describe the most important concepts of Exponential. A rookie developer should definitively read through this chapter in order to understand the basic terms, models, structures and building blocks of the system.

This chapter is more generic than technical, it is meant to teach the concepts rather than explaining details. People previously unfamiliar with Exponential should be able to collect enough information in order to understand the following issues:

The way Exponential is built up
The main directory structure
The concept and necessity of separating content and design
How Exponential stores and manages content
How Exponential handles issues related to design
How Exponential manages different sites
The concept of modules and views
The way Exponential works with URLs
The configuration system
The structure of the workflow system
How the access/permission system works
How the webshop works
A typical page request cycle